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Software Vault: The Diamond Collection
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1995-01-18
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15KB
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367 lines
Advanced OS/2 Joystick Device Driver - Version 0.2a
Copyright 1995 Robert J. Manley and Multi-Player Computer Adventures
SHAREWARE - please read the REGISTRATION section for details.
BRIEF
The Advanced OS/2 Joystick Device Driver has two main purposes:
* To eliminate the joystick response 'flicker' effect seen in many
DOS games running under OS/2.
* To provide a standard interface for OS/2 game programmers to use
the PC joystick port in their products.
>> Please note that there are also plans to allow DOS applications
to speak with the driver, allowing DOS games running under OS/2
very efficient and reliable readings of the joystick port.
NOTE!!
The shareware version of this driver will work exactly as the registered
version. However, the shareware driver will disable its functionality
after 3 uses (eg. after you run three games). Although the driver will
no longer be active, the game port will still be accessible, thus games
and other programs will run as if the driver were not installed. This should
give you enough time to evaluate the driver and decide whether or not it will
be useful for you. Rebooting your system will reset the driver's usage
count, so you can play with things a bit more after doing so. PLEASE
REGISTER THIS SOFTWARE!
CONTENTS
1. Installation
2. Usage
3. Legal Note
4. Registration
5. Known Compatibility List
6. Known Bugs and Limitations
7. Q&A
8. Contacting the Author
9. Closing Notes
10. History
// 1. INSTALLATION
PLEASE NOTE: If you've installed an older version of this driver (0.1a),
you will have to delete the GAMEDD.SYS, GAMEVDD.SYS and
GAMEDD.DOC files from your \OS2 directory manually. Also,
please remove references to these drivers from your CONFIG.SYS.
A. "AUTOMATIC" installation.
The device driver can be installed using the OS/2 device
driver installer. Follow these steps:
- If you received the joystick driver as a ZIP file, extract it
into a temporary directory.
- Open your OS/2 System Setup folder and execute 'Device Driver Install',
or type 'DDINSTAL' at an OS/2 command prompt.
- Change the SOURCE DIRECTORY entry to match the directory in which the
joystick driver is located.
- The DESTINATION DIRECTORY should match the root directory of your
OS/2 boot drive.
- When you click on the INSTALL button, the Advanced OS/2 Joystick
Driver should appear in a list box.
- Select the driver by clicking on its name, then click the OK button.
This will copy the device driver files into a directory named MPCA on
the root of your boot drive and add the device driver loading lines to
your CONFIG.SYS
- You can now exit the Device Driver Install program and reboot
your OS/2 system to enable the driver.
B. "MANUAL" installation.
- Create a directory on the root of your boot drive named MPCA.
- If you received the joystick driver as a ZIP file, extract it
into a the MPCA directory, otherwise, copy all the driver files
into that directory.
- Add the following lines to your CONFIG.SYS file:
DEVICE=x:\mpca\gamedd.sys
DEVICE=x:\mpca\gamevdd.sys
(replacing 'x' with the letter of your boot drive, of course)
- Reboot your system to enable the driver.
// 2. USAGE
The driver adds two options to your DOS SETTINGS notebook.
To change these options, simply bring up the settings notebook
for a particular DOS session icon, choose the SESSION tab, and click
on the DOS SETTINGS button.
GAME_DIRECT_ACCESS
ON - This setting essentially disables the driver by giving the
DOS program direct access to the game port. You should only
enable this setting if you're having problems with control
of a DOS game and suspect that the joystick driver may be
at fault. This is also useful for testing the difference
between having the driver enabled and disabled for a particular
game.
OFF - The default setting. This prevents the DOS program from talking
directly to the game port, and thus allows the joystick driver
to do its work.
GAME_DIGITAL_RESPONSE
ON - The default setting. When this option is enabled, the driver
reports information back to the DOS program which makes your
joystick look much like a GamePad, even if your joystick
is analog.
OFF - Analog joysticks will look like analog joysticks ...
MANUAL RESPONSE SETTINGS ADJUSTMENT
The values that the driver returns to the application using it
can be manually adjusted in case of unusual behavior. For example,
some games may act as if the joystick is being held constantly toward
one direction. If this happens, switch out of the running DOS
application (by using CTRL-ESC, for example) and execute the
JOYTUNE.EXE program found in the MPCA subdirectory.
The program will display the values the joystick driver currently
responds with when in DIGITAL RESPONSE mode. If you choose to change
these values, you will be prompted first for X-axis values, followed
by Y-axis values. Enter three numbers for each axis, representing
the values which should be returned to the game or application.
Modifying these values may improve or resolve odd joystick response
problems. For example, if your program acts as if the joystick
is being held constantly towards the upper-left, then values the
joystick driver is returning for the 'centered' position are too
low for both axis. Try raising the middle value for each axis using
JOYTUNE. You'll likely need to adjust the other values as well.
In most cases, you'll be able to simply switch back and forth between
the game you're trying to use and the JOYTUNE program until the
adjustment is refined.
There are plans for a more user-friendly version of JOYTUNE soon,
which would include the ability to save your modifications for
future use.
// 3. LEGAL NOTE
This software is provided AS IS. No warranty of any kind, expressed or
implied, is granted including any warranties of quality or fitness for
a particular purpose. Under no circumstances will either Robert J. Manley,
Multi-Player Computer Adventures, or Oscar Fowler be held responsible for
any damage that results directly or indirectly from the use of this product.
// 4. REGISTRATION
Registration entitles you to legally use this and all future versions
of the Advanced OS/2 Joystick Device Driver. You will be sent an access
code which will remove the 3-use limit of the shareware driver.
Please fill in the following information and send it along with a check
or money order for $15.00 US to:
(Make checks payable to Oscar M. Fowler)
Multi-Player Computer Adventures
c/o
Oscar Fowler
1834 East Seventh Street
Tucson, Arizona 85719-5511
USA
name: _____________________________________________________________
e-mail: _____________________________________________________________
(Important! We'll send your access code via email, if possible.)
company: _____________________________________________________________
address: _____________________________________________________________
: _____________________________________________________________
: _____________________________________________________________
phone: _____________________________________________________________
cpu type: ________________ cpu speed: _____________
os/2 version: ________________________
type of joystick port: _______________________________________________
type of joystick: _______________________________________________
notes: _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
NOTE: If you are a *registered* user of Robert Manley's Gravis
UltraSound driver for OS/2, you are automatically registered to use
the joystick driver. The serial number on your GUS driver diskette
is used for your joystick driver registration.
Some future versions of this product may only be distributed commercially
but will be sent free to all registered users.
// 5. KNOWN COMPATIBILITY LIST
The following is a list of games which have been tested with this
driver. We may expand this list as more information becomes available,
so please let us know what *your* results are.
PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN SYSTEM HARDWARE, YOUR RESULTS
*MAY* BE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE SHOWN HERE! (YMMV)
GAME VER. RATING NOTES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alien Carnage 1.0 0 Plays well w-w/o driver.
Boppin 1.1 0 Useless w-w/o driver.
Commander Keen 4 2
Doom II 1.7 0 Locks up w-w/o driver.
Falcon 3.0 2 Was ok before - solid now.
Jazz Jackrabit 1.0 2
Line Wars II 1.04 2 Solid. Some flicker before.
Lion King NA 2
Magic Carpet NA 2
MS Flight Simulator 5.0a 1 Better, but still some flicker.
Mortal Kombat 1.0 0 Useless w-w/o driver.
One Must Fall 1.0 2
Rampart NA 2
Raptor 1.0 2
Star Control II NA 2 Unusable before - great now.
SVGA Air Warrior 1.16b -1 Flicker worse with than without.
Tie Fighter NA 2
X-Wing 1 (3.5") NA 2
NOTES
---------------------
+2. Works solidly now - had problems without driver.
+1. Some improvement - game is better with driver, but still has problems.
0. Driver provided no noticeable improvement.
-1. Game works somewhat better *without* the driver.
-2. Driver makes the game unplayable, works much better without it.
// 6. KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS
There are currently no known bugs with the driver itself.
There seems to be a limitation in the number of option settings which
can be added to the DOS SETTINGS notebook. If nothing happens when
you click on the DOS SETTINGS button, then you've most likely run into
this limitation. Our only suggestion at this point is that you
remove other virtual device drivers which add options to this notebook
from your CONFIG.SYS. If you're using Ray Gwinn's SIO driver but
don't have any DOS programs which really need it, then the VSIO.SYS
virtual device driver is a good candidate since it adds *many* options
to the notebook.
The following is a list of games which will *not* work with joystick
support under OS/2 at all. Unfortunately, the driver can't do anything
about fixing these problems. Since the great majority of games *do*
work with a joystick under OS/2, we suggest you contact the authors of
the game in question and ask them to fix the problem. Given enough such
requests, it is possible that they may actually do something about it.
DOOM II: The game will simply stop at its title screen if you
configure it for joystick use. No amount of coaxing seems
to change its mind. Considering that sound effects don't
work under OS/2 either, it almost seems as if Id is
purposefully trying to make life difficult for OS/2 users ...
// 7. Q&A
Q: Does this driver add extra overhead to my OS/2 system?
A: The driver needs to poll the game port for new joystick information.
However, it only does this when an application (game) is using it and
is idle otherwise.
Q: Will this driver conflict with the WatchCat monitor program?
A: No. Be aware that WatchCat will still be checking the joystick
buttons, though, even while games are running. We suggest you start
WatchCat with the /GA option, which would require you to press all
joystick buttons simultaneously to start WatchCat. Alternately,
you could disable WatchCat before starting a game and re-enable it
afterwards using the TOGGLE option. Check the WatchCat documentation.
Please note that WatchCat 2.0 does not have an option equivalent to
the /GA in previous versions. The authors are aware of this and
said they would add it again in a later release.
Q: Doom II just locks up at the title screen! What's wrong?
A: Read the KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS section above.
Q: Nothing happens when I click on the DOS SETTINGS button! What's wrong?
A: Read the KNOWN BUGS AND LIMITATIONS section above.
Q: Will the driver work with the XYZ joystick??
A: The driver is not designed to work with a particular kind of joystick.
It simply reads the joystick *port* for position information and
feeds that back to the DOS program at the appropriate time. It is then
up to your program to interpret the data correctly. If you're having
problems with a particular kind of joystick, please contact us
at the address below.
Q: Will this driver only work with the Gravis UltraSound?
A: No. It is a general-purpose driver which should work with
any standard game adapter.
Q: Why don't the driver's DOS SETTINGS have descriptions in the settings
notebook?
A: It appears to be impossible for third-party virtual device drivers
to add descriptions to their settings within the DOS SETTINGS notebook.
Bug IBM about it!
// 8. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR
Robert J. Manley is the author of the Advanced OS/2 Joystick Device
Driver. However, Oscar Fowler is handling registration and distribution
of the driver. If you have any questions or comments, please contact
him at any of the following addresses:
Oscar Fowler
1834 East Seventh Street
Tucson, AZ 85719-5511 (USA)
Internet email: oscar@cs.arizona.edu
or
omf@rightfax.com
CompuServe: 72347,1655 (not checked often - you'll get a quicker
response from one of the other addresses above)
// 9. CLOSING NOTES
This driver was written because many OS/2 users complained about joystick
flickering in DOS games. In other words - it was written for you!
We hope it makes your use of OS/2 more enjoyable. Please contact us
with any suggestions or comments.
Enjoy!
// 10. HISTORY
Ver 0.1a [12/94]
First public release.
Ver 0.2a [01/95]
Game port polling increased to improve responsiveness.
OS/2 API specifications released.
Possible bug fixed which caused flicker every minute or so.
Digital response tuning app. introduced.